View source for Erwin Jaenecke

General '''Erwin Jaenecke''' was born in Freren, [[Germany]], in 1890 and served as a junior German army officer in [[World War I]].  He remained in the German Army between the World Wars.  He was promoted to the rank of General early in [[World War II]].  He commanded the German IV Army Corps at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]].  In January 1943 he was wounded and was airlifted out of Stalingrad.  Nearly all of the men under his command were killed or captured by the [[Red Army]].

In 1944, he was in command of the 17th Army defending the [[Crimea]] in [[Ukraine]].  His forces were completely defeated by the Soviets and suffered great loss of life.  He was blamed by [[Adolf Hitler]] for the defeat and was forced to retire.  After the war he was held in Soviet captivity until 1955.  He died in 1960.
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[[Category:World War II Commanders]]